Russia’s launch of a hypersonic missile at the end of November has set off alarm bells in Europe. The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, assured hours later that it had not been an intercontinental missile, as Ukraine had initially stated, but rather the experimental Oreshnik 9M729 medium-range projectile, but the fear of a possible Russian nuclear attack on Europe has only increased.
In this context, Spain is applying its latest preparatory measure in the face of the threat that the Russian war in Ukraine will spread to the rest of the continent: the Spanish air force is immersed in a process to adapt the surveillance and control system to this new scenario. of the country’s airspace.
“This modification is aimed at strengthening this capacity against hypersonic and intercontinental missiles,” said the Chief of the Air Force General Staff, Air General Francisco Braco Carbó, last week during a meeting with the media aimed at publicizing the plans of the force for the coming years, according to the media . “We are working to make it fully operational in the shortest possible time,” explained the soldier.
The general explained that at the same time great attention is being paid to “that lower layer where all those small drones move.” Braco also said that a mobile radar is being developed that is capable of detecting this type of remotely piloted or autonomous aircraft.
The Ministry of Defense has allocated 120 million euros to modernize the radar infrastructure to better safeguard Spanish airspace. Indra announced in October that it has already provided the Spanish Air and Space Army with a new cutting-edge radar with the aim of reinforcing aerial surveillance.
Specifically, the Spanish company has completed the implementation and testing of the new Lanza 3D long-range radar, which will be used by the Air Surveillance Squadron 2 (EVA-2), located in the province of Toledo and responsible for surveillance of the central area. of the peninsula.
This project is part of the “continuous modernization process” of the air surveillance and control system of the Air and Space Army, and its ultimate goal is to replace the systems that have ended their operational life with other state-of-the-art ones, according to the statement. .
In total, Indra will implement five radars: four Lanza 3D LRR (Long Range Radar) fixed long-range radars and a Lanza 3D LTR-25 (Long-range Tactical Radar) deployable radar. Furthermore, within the program, technological developments will be addressed that will allow the Lanza 3D systems in service in the Air Surveillance Squadrons to be updated in the future and extend their operational life, improving their operational performance to face new threats.
